


join the swim team

by leothequeenn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bianca had gotten injured, Free! Crossover, Multi, Percico - Freeform, Percy's a little consistent shit lmao, Swim Team AU, Swimming, girl's team, guy's team, nico really doesn't wanna join the swim team, slight pipabeth too, tiny bits of clyson and lukethan and other ships, whatev
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 12:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4348561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leothequeenn/pseuds/leothequeenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Nico, I want you to join the swim team with me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	join the swim team

**Author's Note:**

> so i only have this chapter written out and another chapter half written out so i'm hoping i can start on this, and still finish tboaf, silent laughter _and_ heart made of metal... i need to make a checklist or something before i get too much on my plate. whoops, looks like there already is a lot on my plate. that's okay though.

There he was again. Standing there with a smile on his face, leaned up against some other random person’s locker, standing by Nico’s locker (which he had learned which one was his by multiple tries, Nico found it quite amusing whenever Percy was three lockers away from his and had to face the wrath of Clarisse La Rue). At the end of the day, every single day since August, Percy was there.

Percy had his blue backpack slung over his shoulder, and he was barely holding onto it while one of his long sleeves was scrunched up to his elbow to expose his bracelet with beads on it. Those beads were the ones Nico knew to be from the school’s swim team, that they apparently got every year, and Percy only had three on the leather strap. Nico honestly wanted to break the leather strap because _she_ used to have three as well, until, well, _that_ happened.

But, there Percy Jackson was and there was no way to tell him to go away unless to tell him he would join, but he didn’t want to join the stupid swim club and so Percy was just going to have to keep pestering him for the rest of his high school career.

That thought terrified him and so he bent down for his locker and started to spin the combination. He didn’t even want to acknowledge the black-haired boy standing there until he said, “What? No snappy comeback?” Nico rolled his eyes as Percy acted hurt, but he could tell that even without looking up, the boy was smiling and that it was showing through his voice. “Anyway--”

“No.” Nico’s voice was a little rough, but deadpanned at once since he had been expecting it, and he opened the locker, placing his bookbag down in front of it, unzipping that. He pulled out those bulky textbooks he didn’t even think were necessary, and kept the ones he needed for homework tonight. Teachers just found that as an excuse to ‘ _get crackin’ on the hard learning!_ ’ which Nico just found was a little bullshit, because he was already tired of it. But, maybe that was just because he wanted to play Mythomagic with his friend, Frank, but whatever. Homework was bullshit too.

“You didn’t even know what I was gonna say!” Percy protested and Nico had to finally look up into those stupid green eyes to get his point across that, yes, he did know exactly what he was going to say, and no, he’s not going to join the swim team. “I was just going to ask you how your day was.”

Nico had to stifle a laugh. _Right_ , it was always ‘ _how was your day? I want you to join the swim team_ ’. How silly of him to get that mixed up. He’d been coming to the boy’s locker since the beginning of school and now that it was December, Nico assumed that the swim team was getting desperate, since they needed someone before spring, and that person had to be good. Frankly, Nico wasn’t good at swimming at all. But they were a swim team, why did they need someone else to join? Didn’t they already have enough people? Why would they need him? Though, he did remember Percy saying that they lost a member a while back, and not many people had joined in the first place, and since it was December, they were doing tryouts.

But he still didn’t know why Percy had wanted _him_ to join, and honestly, he was starting to think that the joke was getting old. He had thought it was a joke to begin with, but how far was Percy thinking about going with it? Percy was two years older and a _senior_ anyway, so it wouldn’t matter in a year if he joined or not.

“It was fine, until you began pestering me again.” Nico responded harshly, and Percy went silent and _fuck, dammit, Nico, you fucked it up_. But why should he be worried about what that fish boy thought?

Feeling defeated, Nico closed his eyes, sighed, and stood up to face the older boy. Which was hard, since the other boy was practically a fucking tower, but he tried not to think about that too much.

“Look, sorry,” he apologized, “I kind of had a rough day and when you’re always coming over here to tell me to join the swim club, it’s a little aggravating.” He admitted, huffing a bit as he crossed his arms.

Percy hummed and nodded his head, slowly before nodding it again, that time more confidently. “Well, the offer still stands.”

Nico stared at him blankly once more, wondering when in the hell was that boy going to understand that he didn’t want to join? He wasn’t any good at swimming -- he couldn’t even swim -- and his sister had swam before she got a head injury. He didn’t want to do that.

“Look, I know your sister swam too.” _Well, of course he did_. “And I knew what happened to her.” _Why was he bringing that topic up now?_ Nico thought with a scowl, and crouched back down without a word to pay more attention to his _books and folders_ rather than _fish boy_. “And I just want you to know, that she was swimming backstroke, and you don’t have to do that stroke since it could be scary at times… But I do know that backstroke wasn’t what caused her injury, so I mean if you wanna try backstroke, I’m all for it... But I'm the one swimming backstroke, so no worries if you don't want to.” He added quietly, and of course Nico knew that she swam backstroke, but it was still scary. “How is she, anyway?”

“What?”

The sudden change from swimming to wondering how someone was threw Nico off course and he stared up at the boy once more, that time incredulously. “How is your sister? You know, she was in my grade. I haven’t seen her around here, I haven’t after a while. She quit the girl’s swim team and then just left.”

Nico didn’t want to tell him. Almost. “She, uh... Doesn’t go to school here anymore. Didn’t really want anyone to know.” Damn, his voice cracked and Percy’s wondering expression softened. “But I mean, her friends knew, I’m surprised you didn’t.”

“Well, I mean… I didn’t personally know her. I just knew what happened to her, and I mean. I was there whenever… yeah. She was just always at meets and stuff for the girls team and, yeah. She was really good.” Percy said, a little bit of disappointment in his voice. There was a little bit of an awkward pause, and Nico felt bad about it. But why? Just so he could tell him even more apologies? Fucking please, he didn’t have time for that. “And that’s why I think you should join.”

It caught him off-guard (really, how many times had the boy done that?) and Nico halted, tearing his eyes away from Percy’s to deal with zipping up his backpack and closing his locker door with a slam. “I’m not my sister, you know.”

“That’s not what I meant though!” Percy added quickly, but Nico sighed and watched him carefully. “I just… I want you to join the swim club.”

And there it was again. No reason why, not even a ‘Could you join the swim club?’ or even a ‘join the swim club!’ It was ‘I want you to join the swim club’. _I want_. But why? Why was he so important to that goddamn swim club?

“If you keep saying it like that, I’m gonna have to keep turning you down.” Nico responded and walked off, knowing his friend was waiting by the buses for him, pretending not to hear the sigh that emitted from the taller boy’s mouth.

* * *

As expected, Leo Valdez was waiting patiently by the buses (well, as patiently as he could be) and when he saw the black-haired boy coming toward him, he leaped up and had a huge smile on his face. “You’re running behind, you slow-poke.” He teased, poking the other boy’s nose and Nico subconsciously scrunched it up.

“ _He_ was at my locker again.” Nico stated and Leo automatically knew who he was, and he didn’t understand why Nico didn’t just join the swim team and get it over with. Nico knew that. “And then he asked about my sister, and I told him she left.” Another thing he didn’t understand why Nico did. But, that was Nico and sometimes, Nico was confusing.

“Alright, and why did you do that?” Leo wore an elfish grin as he arched an eyebrow, obviously amused by the lack of feeling given toward the fishboy who stood at Nico’s locker. “Why couldn’t you just tell him that your sister is--”

“Shh!” Nico interrupted, and Leo was actually a little startled at how forced it sounded. “Don’t even say the words. I feel like if you say it--”

“It might get worse, yes I know. But they’re just words, Nikki.” A glare was sent Leo’s way, causing the other to laugh. “The nickname had to happen sooner or later, and I’ve been calling you that now for like, a month! Surprised you didn’t notice.”

Nico rolled his eyes and looked up at the bare branches instead. “I noticed, just didn’t care. We should probably get on the bus…” He said after a moment, and the two headed toward those stupid yellow buses they had, and Leo snickered as soon as he got on the smelly vehicle.

They sat together, like they always did, and Leo looked at the other boy expectantly. “So, are you going to join the swim club?”

Nico groaned. “Oh, God, not you too…” There was a slight, coy smile on the Latino’s face and he could tell he was serious. Nico smacked his own face. “I’m not joining the swim club--”

“He’s gonna keep pestering you, you know.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

It was silent between the two before Leo spoke up again, and he played with his curls as he did so, “I think you should just give in. I mean, Jace joined.” _Even Jason joined? Wow, that’s something_ , Nico thought and he sighed, resting his head up against the window. “Though I think that's just because Piper joined the girl's team. Whatever." Leo shook his head. "He does butterfly. Isn’t that funny?”

“I don’t really want to hear about anything like that…” Nico deadpanned, looking at the other with a little glare. Even though there was a whine, he shook his head. “No, I’m not listening to it.”

“That’s not all I wanted to talk to you about!” Leo pouted, which looked kind of funny, but Nico was not going to laugh. Leo wore a smile, a brighter smile with meaning behind it. They stared at each other for a moment before Nico gave in, and Leo continued, hesitantly. “Um… Well…” There was slight hesitation, which was odd for Leo, Nico knew that. So what the fuck was wrong with him? Why didn't he just speak up and change the topic from the swim team?

Nico stared at his friend blankly before the puzzle pieces connected in his head, and it almost was too hard to believe, too surreal to even be reality. “You didn’t.” He hissed out after what seemed like an eternity of silence, and Leo gave him a nervous look and a shoulder shrug. “You barely have time to do homework, and you’re fucking on a _swim team_ now? What about your inventions and shit?”

“I’ll still have time to do those! I promise!” Leo defended before shaking his head. “Look, anyway, I’ll find time to do those. I just think you should join, because it will be fun, okay?”

“But you don’t know how to swim. You don't even like swimming!”

“Jason’s teaching me~ And I know I don't like swimming but, still..."

"I don't know how to swim," Nico mumbled, crossing his arms tightly.

"And that’s alright, mi amigo, I’m almost positive they'll teach you too.”

“Whatever," he sighed and looked at Leo, arching an eyebrow, "...What do you swim?”

“Percy wanted me to do breaststroke.” He giggled a bit before adding a wink. Nico sighed again, and he felt like his lungs were going to collapse from all the sighing he’d been doing. Of course Leo had to join. Of course Jason and Piper had to join. Of course everyone had to join, and now it felt like Nico was the only one not joining, and if that were the case, why did it fucking matter to Percy if he didn’t join?

“I really kinda hate you now.”

“I figured.” He said with a sigh, and he latched onto the other boy’s arm. “But will you please join? If not for me, then for your sister.”

That sentence caused him to go still, and Leo knew he had hit a nerve, but the offer still stood. Leo made that clear.

“...Maybe.” Nico mumbled, and Leo cheered up to the sky. Nico was silent the rest of the ride home.


End file.
